In a Field of Grass
by xXKaiOfHeartsXx
Summary: -OneShot- As Gary is returning to Pallet Town, his thoughts venture on Ash. PalletShip or Gash as I like to call it. MxM, Slash.


**In a Field of Grass  
**a oneshot by Kai

Gary walked with a slight satisfaction in his step. His trademark purple shirt and yin-yang pendant cascaded down his body while his muscular Umbreon marched along side of him. It was Spring, and just like all the Spring's before, he felt the longing to return home to Pallet Town, to his grandfather and guardian Professor Oak, and most importantly to Ash.

Unfortunately, his random encounters with the younger boy had dwindled to close to none in the recent days, and his longing to see his old friend, rival, and crush had overwhelmed his senses. At night the only image that would come to his mind was Ash's, and with that he felt a certain desire to make what he wanted, his. Of course, Gary was certain his wish would never come true. _Wish upon all the Jirachi's you want, _he would say to himself as he lay at night, _it's never going to come true_.

Gary never hated Ash. That was a misconception, brought on by his own fear of maybe becoming something other then the older figure Ash once looked up to. Still did look up to. He loved when they were younger, more innocent, in the time when they were friends, and played together, and comforted each other in times of need (like when Ash's father left), and fought over stupid things (like a Pokeball). The sneer in his voice, the superficial glint in his eyes, they were all real - but not for the reason everyone thought. They were just his mask, his insurance. The cheerleaders - they were his back up story. His closet door.

But that did not matter anyways, they were gone for good. For the better, even. Umbreon purred and Gary stroked his shining fur. "You're beautiful Umbreon, you know that?" Umbreon smiled and nuzzled at his waist, as if to reply,_ Thanks, and you're not so bad looking yourself_.

Hope was what Gary had, and that was enough to keep him going all the way back home. He didn't care that he crossed an island and a country to get home. It was worth it to just see Ash's beautiful face again. Gary had been away researching some rare Pokemon (and not being as successful as he hoped), but as Spring rolled around he knew he just had to venture home. It was the only thing that kept him running.

Gary looked down at his watch and calculated that he would be home within the hour. The daylight was waning, but still he had time until nightfall. Enough time to get home, settle back in, do a little bit of catching up with his grandfather, and maybe going and finding Ash. It was somewhat of a long shot, but that was alright. Gary had all the time in the world, or at least he had the notion.

Gary's boots stomped through a puddle of mud on the ground and then another. The forest was not the greatest place to be - but it wasn't the worst he'd ever experienced. He hiked his backpack up on his back and continued on his way, pausing only to take a drink of water and rest his legs underneath a large Oak tree. The irony was not lost on him. Soon the sights began to become more and more familiar and his state of serenity was slowly replaced by his self-righteous state of mind that was second nature to him. He couldn't help but replace his peaceful smile with a smirk as he thought about how kissable Ash's lips were, or how much he wanted to ravish him. And as he got closer to the town he'd grown up in, he realized just how bad he had it for the younger boy. He exhaled slowly and his Umbreon sensed that his master had become more and more aware.

Umbreon wasn't worried, or scared. He was excited. He could almost feel the rush Gary had when he thought about Ash. It surprised him, how something so obvious could be so ordinary - and yet so natural. He could almost smell the little yellow Pikachu in the far distance, and it brought him nothing but pleasure to see his master so elated, even if it was covered by his signature smirk. At times it got old, but this wasn't one of them. As Gary trekked on, he eventually made it out of the Forrest and onto the path that led him right back to Ash, who, coincidentally, was standing a mere few feet away.

Instantly Gary froze. The other boy hadn't noticed him yet, and for some reason his mind went into hyper drive. His Umbreon purred and Ash, who was leaning on a tree looking at something, slowly turned around to see Gary, smirking a soft smirk, and slowly making his way to him. Gary and Ash weren't really on rival terms anymore, so he was unsure as to why he kept feeling it necessary to recreate his past. Slowly his false smile faded away for something more genuine as he exclaimed, "Hey Ashey-boy."

Ash gave him one of his cute smiles that made Gary flutter on the inside, and replied. "Hey Gary."

"Long time no see," Gary swallowed his heartbeat and gave Ash an unsuspecting hug.

Ash traced a random pattern on his back and replied, "Agreed. Obviously you're heading back to Pallet Town, I guess we can venture back together now."

Gary's heart grew heavy. "Yeah, that'd be awesome."

Pikachu scampered out of a tree holding a berry he had found and dropped it in front of Ash before trotting over to Umbreon to spark a conversation of sorts.

"So how are you?" Ash asked after a short period of semi-awkward silence.

"I'm alright," Gary replied, smiling. "I was off searching about this rare Pokemon, but I didn't get much on it. Although I did hear many legends about it."

"Oh, that's pretty cool. Does it have a name?" Ash wondered.

"I'm sure it does, I'm just not sure what it is," Gary stated sheepishly. "How are you and why are you venturing back to Pallet Town?"

"I'm good as well. I decided I needed a break, and I wanted to see old friends and family," and then under his breath at a vocal decibel he was sure Gary couldn't hear (but did), he added, "mainly you."

Gary's heartbeat grew thicker, denser, heavier, louder. He could see Pikachu and his Umbreon out of the corner of his eyes, but Ash took up most of his focus. He couldn't help but get lost in the younger boys innocent features. "After all these years," Gary said, "you still look so young."

Ash sighed. He hated that about himself. While Gary had matured into a beautiful young man, he had only blossomed into...well, he hadn't. And that was the point. He looked almost exactly as he did a few years ago, just slightly bigger in general. And if that wasn't enough, he commonly got mistaken for the 12 year old he wasn't. "Unfortunately," Ash muttered.

"No, no, no, no!" Gary quickly stated. "You're beautiful." Then his face turned red.

"Thanks," Ash replied. "I think you're beautiful as well."

They paused in the field of grass and turned to look at each other. It was as if Pikachu and Umbreon had left and it was just them in this brilliantly meadow-ed pathway. Gary moved closer to the smaller boy and breathed in his scent. He bent his head over Ash's, and his hair went tumbling forward. He pressed his lips against the other boy in a forced yet somehow gentle kiss, and almost as quickly as their lips had touched, they had parted.

There was a slight sinking feeling in the pit of Gary's stomach has he waited for Ash to reply. What was probably only a second felt like an eternity, and he mentally scolded himself for not forcing Umbreon to put him in a Pokeball to prevent this from ever happening.

Of course, his thought quickly passed when Ash returned this kiss with a more elaborate one, his tongue making it's way into Gary's mouth and their tongue's having a small battle of their own.

Gary broke the connection and whispered the three words he dreamed about every night into Ash's right ear before nibbling on it, ever so gently. "I love you," spewed from his mouth and Ash's large brown eyes searched deep within the older boy's soul so he could believe it was true. At last he found the answer he was looking for, although it was as if he was reading an open book.

Ash wrapped his arms around Gary's waist and pressed his head against his chest and muttered those three words in reply. It was as if a perfect moment had come to bless the two with an event that had a one in a million chance in happening. Gary kissed Ash's lips once more, to make sure it was real and not just some sick dream designed to break him, and decided that against all odds, it was real.

His hands interlaced with Ash's and like a phoenix from dust, they ventured into the unknown, completely, and utterly confident and blissfully ignorant.

* * *

It is what it is. And it is my first PalletShip story. I hope you liked it! Any further changes will be minor. Review and whatnot, constructive criticism is good, because I can always take it into account with the next story I write.

Much love, KAI :)**  
**


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